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Technologies
Sitemap Rapture Technologies * See Also Historic_Tech_Timeline * See Also Technology_In_Columbias_Era * See Also Rapture Electronics * See Also Era_Electronics * See Also TVs_in_Rapture * See Also Industry In Rapture * See Also Bio-Electronics * See Also Weapon_Fun * See Also Plasmids * See Also Diving_Suits * See Also Geothermal Power * See Also Radio In Rapture * RECYCLING MOVE STUFF TO ELECTRONICS !!!! Rapture is supposed to be Full of Technological Marvels. In Truth there are SOME Technical Marvels, but very many ordinary things done much the way they are on The Surface (or pushed only a little forward). But enough new Marvels in the Citizens lives ARE to be Seen. --- --- --- --- --- What other Genius came to Rapture and What Did They Produce ? : Resulting in advances in consumer items, monumental devices that serve the City or were just impressive... Why couldn't these Geniuses do it up in the Real World ? (Likely why they came to Rapture) : * Ethics (beyond the allegedly looser ones in the real world 40s/50s) * Short-sightedness ('cant be done', 'who would want that', 'sounds crazy', 'impractical'...) * Politics (Rapture probably got some Nazis and collaborators who would be otherwise 'on-the-run') * Vested interests in it not being developed (it competes with existing products and thus is quashed/sabotaged) * Some missing part (technology/material) that was solved in Rapture and opened the greater development. * Money (funding) is still a problem, just as it is in the real world (more open minds or idle Cash in Rapture??). * You would think something truly promising/demonstrated would not usually be turned down up on the Surface. Issues : * Is Rapture's population big enough for some things to work (enuf customers to justify the trouble) -- that might forestall many achievements - because they don't pay (do your abstract science, but don't quit your day job....). * Many ideas Players might have wont be logical as they actually (in real life) require dozens of advancement that have to happen first (Bioshock's technology dynamics were not the same as Real World ones - and the NNORPG's should be better). * Hobby originated technical breakthroughs - a climate of technical/scientific openness/available tools/advice - eccentrics dabbling in odd things (Brain Boost later to leaven the process much further). * One would hope that Rapture wasn't cutoff from the Surface's technological information - many developments were the result of the right person hearing the right idea. * Some jokes in the game would be alluding to surface technological developments having actually been a breakthrough in Rapture and being smuggled out to the World (or sold via Ryan's organization to continue to buy useful materials that Rapture just couldn't be self-sufficient in (the Hundred-Year-Stockpiles)). Velcro, Poprocks, and the IC chip were all original Rapture technologies.... (possibly). --- --- --- Game Concept Truth (The Era) ''' : At the end of WW2, when Steam Engines were still largely the primary propulsion of Trains and Ships, Jet planes were flying, as were German Rockets. Truth is : Technology Advancements don't just appear without great effort. '''IT IS TO BE OUR Sci-Fi Rapture not Levine's Columbia bad Fantasy. --- --- --- . . . . . . . Best and Brightest : ''' What could inventors and technologists do in Rapture that they could not (not allowed to) do in The Surface World ? Besides the ethics limitations (which even in the real post WW2 World were much less than today). Racism ? It would have to make up for losing access to Research Libraries, consultations with peers, fully equipt laboratories and new/latest equipment and materials and technical expertise. Low/non-existent regulation and red-tape would certainly help ('paperwork' can cause ridiculously long delays to get the simplest things done, and bureaucrats who block/delay things as part of an institutional bribery coercion system doubly so). Many rich individuals went to Rapture, which made money/resources available that might not have been accessible to many in war-torn Europe or Iron Curtain countries or consumer-market bent America. There was an much higher concentration of money on average than in most of the surface World. The nature of the way immigrants for the 'Rapture Colony' were picked -- a concentration of geniuses and those with real abilities -- with ideas, skills, more motivation (and fewer time-wasters) ... Result was geniuses with money/resources available with fewer roadblocks (vs post WW2 recovery environment that dampened activities/achievement through most of the World.) Upto 1952, Rapturians could still tap into the outside world for ideas/information and technologies that might be lacking in the mix of the 20000-40000 people in Rapture (Ryan's World organization helped some with that in the drive to achieve 'self-sufficiency'). Even after Rapture was officially isolated, critical information/materials could still be acquired through Ryan or via smugglers. --- --- --- '''SORRY, No Wave Of The Hand For Rapture : There would be a Flow of Research (technology data/information/scientific papers) into Rapture pre-cutoff and post-cutoff(~1952), and most tech seen in use was nothing new in the post-WW2 World. Official channels continued to exist for important/prioritized information/materials/expertise. Laws of Physics aren't being broken (apart from the Plasmid Magic, which with a little work can be reasonably explained). This is Unlike the Infinite BS technological 'vacuum', where the 'technology' which doesn't even exist in the rest of the World (for decades, or ever) magically appearing in this Cultish Police State Coney Island -- So easily achieved with some game writer's limp Wave Of The Hand. Sorry, stealing technology from 'The Future' IS just as ludicrous WHEN the people of that time (worse - from 1893 -- further decades earlier) can barely understand the technology's concepts, let alone USE the Technology, to be able to manufacture workable things using what all was previously unknown. (('' Face it, Some game writers are quite clueless )) Rapture had the existing current 1945 WORLD to take most of its modest technologies from. For Infinite BS was simply Fantasy magic. BioShock Rapture has ITS 'great advance' be in (' "BIO" ) Genetics and Gene Manipulation which was based on ONE very important Enabling Event - Tenenbaum's discovery of Stem Cell reformation from a chemical in a Sea Slug's Venom. The Technology could at least (also) plausibly leverage 'secret' Nazi genetic research from the previous decade(s) in the same scientific area. Later, in the Minervas Den DLC, Computers were portrayed the same way -- Again with a great deal of existing Real World development to leverage off, and by adding my imaginations use of the Genetic Tech to jumpstart advancements for the MANY magnitudes of computing power required for the DLC story's simulation of Artificial Intelligence. --- --- --- ADAM Genetic Manipulation Automation and Remote control/monitoring Bio-Electronics Bioluminescence Construction & Building Structures Materials Computers Communications : TV : Public Announcements Cyborgs : Big Daddies : Delta : Sigma Power : Geothermal (ie- Hephaestus) : Utility Distribution Security (remote and automation) Transportation : Bathyspheres : Pneumo : Trolley/Trains Tunnel Cutting/Drilling --- --- --- '''Discovery, Research, Development, THEN to Product - Some Delay : One thing which certain writers overlook in their forced compression of plausible timelines. They present Products instantly being made from something just discovered (Hint- Doesn't happen in the Real World). Often real technologies take decades before becoming mature/developed enough to make effective devices (cost effective production, reliable, mass-producible, rugged, compact, etc...) --- --- --- New technologies For New Rapture : * The 'Cure' - reversing the effects/side-effects of ADAM addiction - making Splicers 'normal' again * X-Cell - Stem Cell grown from a donor and applicable only to the same person (an outgrowth of the Anti-ADAM research). A branch of Tenenbaum's research clinic is expanding to facilitate X-Cell culturing for those who can afford to pay (the excess money goes to pay for other/further research). * Lumi-lite (the lightbulbs/fluorescent-tubes wont last forever) Optimized Bioluminescence made from chemicals extracted from glowey Sealife (you saw some visible in BS2). * 'Frankentree' Bonsai (for that invigorating oxygen boost - right in your own home and office) * What 'The Thinker' can do for Rapture (automatic regulation and failure prediction, scientific computations). BIOS-Shock ??? No 'The Thinker' is NOT SkyNet (or is it ??) And it is supposed to be properly plausibly grounded. * Suchongs last great invention (?) - ( MSG ?? Pre-mixed cocktails in cans ?? --- --- Nah, that's not it. Ketchup in those little packets ??) * Amazing things made from old tin cans and bottles and candy wrappers (like electronic components)... * Batteries made out of mutant Potatoes - did someone REALLY come up with that ?? * Mutated rat brains to control Bots? (or was that what was in the ones we saw in BS1/BS2??) * Dart-guns, an alternative to lethal weapons for use in 'saving' Splicers. Other items like net traps/net guns also developed. * An old project to generate EVE using genetically altered plants has unfortunately caused these 'EVEplants' to grow in various parts of Rapture (and even to be cultivated by Splicer factions). Citizens are commissioned to seize all such plants and to turn them in for an official bounty. * Body Armor - made from Ryanium (broken window frame/glass materials after ALOT of reworking) and other easier to work metals. Improves personal defenses to some degree against various attacks. Encumbrance limits mobility and carrying capacity. Useful for the 'point man' doing an assault. * NOTE - stuff in the game will be simplified technically - no need to get intricate to the point of tediousness. Most players just need to know that this Doohickey or that Thingamabob is used for X and you get one from Y. Technology should have the appearance of consistently and systematic. Tech Level Falls A Bit : You will see more Huge Frankenstein-Style 'Knife' Switches for machinery ? Knife Switches - They are easier to fabricate after Rapture's "problems" happened. Might wanna try to keep em dry though - High voltage doesn't like water nor humidity in direct contact. Actually, in heavy industry huge hydraulic disk contact breakers were used for high-current power on-off, with their contact surface immersed in oil to keep their surfaces from spark corroding/scarring). --- --- --- --- --- Artificial Research and Development Boost Via ADAM : Note- Brain Boost Tonic for the human technology developers (and maybe some Cats) was influential in creating the many dozens (hundreds ?) of materials, processes and techniques required to make the Bio-Electronics and other related technologies function. Similar Brain-Boost-like genetic manipulations of nerve tissues were used to facilitate the training of the Bio-Electronics logic itself (cell formation triggers and such). Consider that the whole Real World computer technology was the result of many years/decades of work of more people than the total population in Rapture, and hundreds of technical/industrial disciplines. Even just understanding and applying already discovered/developed technologies (data/info from the Surface) would quickly overwhelm any qualified people in Rapture. To some extent, Ryan could have some technical expertise on the Surface help solve various problems, and the results sent down. Similar handling/facilitation would be done for the many specialized tools, techniques and materials. Artificial brain stimulants could help a great deal, even when doing simple replication/application of era-existing methods and systems from the Surface. Only a limited number of PRACTICAL projects would quickly use up Rapture's manpower, if it was not already being restricted by the limited local resources ($$$) that could be applied. Milestones and increments of usable developments (that work and would pay) would be a likely REALISTIC progression (you don't just leap to iPods, HAL 9000 and Web Browsers). Another ADAM-based ability-accelerant for this and similar technologies was "Deft Touch", which was a general dexterity and concentration modifier for the technicians, which helped with the manufacturing process for the miniature components used (which is largely manipulating/adjusting the machines used in the process). Unfortunately ADAM products and this line of Tonics only happened late in Rapture's history. Of course, before the advent of ADAM Tonics, the good ole ingenuity and know-how of highly trained and creative minds would have had to suffice for all the earlier Tech developments. Lots and lots of information from the Surface would have been imported to keep up with the technological developments there (seriously no way that the number of scientists and engineers in Rapture could keep up or outdo all the multitudes of people working on similar things (and the vast range of supporting tools/materials/skills) up on the Surface. Jeremiah Fink, the caveman shown in Infinite BS (and and Dr Suchong the geneticist/doctor NOW SUPER SCIENTIST shown in the fantasy pollution flow into BaSx Rapture) -- They somehow get things done simply by viewing a working object and then magically produce multiple new complex technologies - fully working things. Technology not even in THEIR areas of know-how/professions, and do it in a ridiculously short period of time. SORRY, but it doesn't work that way, unless you have a magic wand like Harry Potter. --- --- --- Biological Power Generation is Inefficient (When the MMORPGe Is NOT to be ALOT of Fantasy Gorp) : ATP cycle within cells - very low energy density and food(fuel) conversion and mechanical efficiency is quite poor. This is what would internally power ALL Plasmids/Tonics. For instant use, another chemical mechanism is required. * Animal (muscle) power -- hamster in treadmill to power a Bioluminescent Light (and some Shake-Light type generation). * Cows being uses to drag stuff around (probably near a farm where cows food also is). Tasty cows (milk too) would be a valuable commodity in Rapture's current state. * Potato Batteries have been mentioned before (this is a chemical reaction). * Human power is about IT (that kind of thing goes back to the Stone Age). And you can't ROW a Bathysphere in this universe. The Plasmid Stuff (as corrected in the MMORPG for the advertising Hype and de-game-gimicked ), are done by biologically accumulating chemical energy (as an example consider the energy of fart methane explosively moving a projectile - that requires alot more gas than you'd think, actually). --- --- --- Slow-Scan Television (SSTV Real World) : Early long distance radio transmissions - like as used in early spaceflights (those shots on landing on the Moon). Usually with lower resolution that standard TV (there are very long distance real-time signal limitations). Possibly used in early Security Cameras (because of the lesser cost). And for some of the computer automation (at minimum being used for monitoring alerts when something moved in the view of the camera). The Early Flybots probably used such a technology (BTW, their 'intelligence' was remote anyway - as in having them have enough computing power for what they are shown to do (which is hard even today) - is as ludicrous as having a complex autopilot on a Zeppelin. --- --- --- Remote Closed Circuit TV Camera : This got an early start in Rapture because of its use in the City Construction (a whole lot of remote-controlled machineries, working with pre-fabricated building sections/components, in lieu of many more Suited Men grunt workers). That at least gives the tech a long prep time for its use later in those Security Cameras seen in the games - many not necessarily being quite 'automatic'. Instead, as suggested in the Novel, having some kind of 'flasher recognition' type friend/foe mechanism could be a good/workable solution (ignoring the game not mentioning/having any such explanation/elaboration). Construction Automation (also elaborated upon in the Novel), being an important factor in building Rapture, would need to SEE to direct the work going on. Consider : when steam shovels were first being employed in the US - one shovel did the work of over a hundred laborers using pick/shovel/wheelbarrows, and were so cost effective that they paid themselves off within a year. Consider that Deep Sea Hardsuits (required for the depths involved at Rapture - many hundreds of feet) were very complicated and extremely expensive to use (and required highly trained men to both be in them and to maintain/operate them). SO A work multiplier like the Remotes used with Automation to build Rapture would have been one of the early achievements. NO ADAM REQUIRED --- --- --- "Magic Eye" Tube - another Tube-Era Display Method : Used as indicators for devices which gave an analog visual indicator used to show some state of an electronic machine (it really indicates a voltage offset, but that can be generated from just about anything via a sensor). http://www.magiceyetubes.com/patterns.htm Basic graphics to make one that works in the game, and gives scripted indications for the player's use on all kinds of device Assets. ---- SteamPower.jpg|Steam Power was at its pinnacle in Rapture's Era Transmittertube.jpg|Large Radio Transmitter Tube. Even after semiconductors and Power Transistors were commonly used for everything else, Tubes like this were still used. Rapture is just at the beginning of the Transistor Age so ALOT of tubes would still be used for many things. --- --- --- Portable Wireless Telephone Company ''': New products for your convenience ... Imagine the 'brick' that Jack had to carry around for that 'portable radio' he stole from the Bathysphere (actually he was being pursued by Ryan Security for THEFT, which is against the law after all). Actually imaging the pile of stuff Jack carried for all those weapons and ammo and unused Tonics and Plasmids and Medi-kits/Eve ampules (Fitting through doors and even moving would definitely be a problem if realism used there - point would be in the MMORPG to narrow down you 'carrying' a bit - with more equipment decisions required). Attempts would be made for the MMORPG to have somewhat more realistic 'Encumbrance' game mechanics. Oh, and that 'Wireless' unit still ties into the 'wired' system just like Cellphone systems do - Only moreso because of less open space, and how shit-poor radio waves go through water AND cement walls). --- --- --- '''Bio-Electronic Tube Modules : The 2x2 inch glass strata 'circuits in wrapper in a sealed 4" tall glass tube (gas sealed not vacuum) -- like what we saw frequently on the ground in Minervas Den. Some people in Minervas Den started building little scenes inside these 'Tubes' - art varies in ability. Have at least one mission where the 'clue' is in the 'Tube' - Idea - Noble Gas circuits - glowey (Neon effect) ... ''' : Pretty at least (different colors for different gases) Bioluminescent status displays (and instrument gauge lighting) INSIDE Big Daddy Suit (and the few Hardsuits in Rapture) Mini TV tubes (mono color) using noble gas glow argon,neon, etc * Grid array using the Bio micro-electronics method of Etchings and Bio Transistors (digital signal with corresponding digital TV signal recorder tube ) * Small enuf to have on the DELUXE 'Audio Diary' players (though the resolution isn't great) --- --- --- '''Rubber ??? : Rubber wears out. Its is a fundamental Material in the Modern World. Would Rapture have to have developed Artificial Rubber ??? (a plastic). Eventually, without access to natural Rubber from the Surface, they would need to (because rubber eventually deteriorates). Rubber (for flexible attachments/seals/tubes/gaskets) actually IS one of the key elements for our Modern World (alongside Steel, Copper, Fuels, Electricity). --- --- --- Miniaturized Electronics : . . . . . . . I saw several machines like this in various places in Rapture. Its an Electron Microscope, and they generally didn't much like a water soaked environment. Either that Accu-Vox is even huger than normal (the new Boom Box Model ...) Or someone didn't scale this Electron Microscope prop quite correctly (the flat part should be at least table height and was intended for use while standing up). - Handheld Radios using Transistors Portable Magnetic Recording (see Audio Diaries . . . . . . . --- -- ---- Rubber - a Key Material in the Industrial Age : Did Rapture have its own Rubber Tree Plantation, Or was all of it either (first) imported/stockpiled before the isolation OR do they mostly use synthetics (primitive in the 50s and even the best today is not as good as natural rubber for certain things). Rubber does wear out and corrodes slowly in the environment (worse when pollutants are present), so would be needed to make many spare parts to keep all the machinery operating (many of machinery designs may have been selected to try to avoid/minimize this weakness, when possible). The expense of this useful material (and the quantities used) might make having mutated Rubber Trees (or other plants which produce a similar substance - ie- Dandelions) a viable industry venture (a whole lot of work, but with a big payoff if you consider the wide range of applications). And in the attempt to make Rapture 'self-sufficient', such a Project would at least be considered and be assisted by Ryan (and be one more 'farm' to have somewhere near the City). Rubber bands are very useful (kinda like the Towel in 'Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy ...) but given a few years exposure to air they harden and crack and become useless. --- --- --- Huge Library of Useful Information - Somewhere : Rapture was built with the intent of eventually being cut off (or surviving a destroyed Surface World) and would have tried to accumulate all possibly useful knowledge from the World (and would take measures to ensure its survival from accidents and time). To Ryan it might be as fundamental as making the City's walls strong enough to last decades. So somewhere in Rapture (maybe in many redundant places) would be built storehouses of knowledge - archives of that information. Tons of microfilm (technology perfected in the 30s and by WW2). And fortunately, making additional copies cost little more than the first. Even after the City was 'Closed to the outside' in 1952, the flow of new information may not have stopped and was brought in with other 'official' shipments of other critical 'stockpile' materials. These would have been copied and added to the various archives. Individuals might have brought their own collections of materials deemed worthy of copying, as well as proprietary business/industrial information. Private interest groups copied selected information as well (including the Rapture Standard/Tribune and other City newspapers). The multiple copies were placed in various secure locations and it would be very useful to find them again. --- --- --- . . . . . . . This is actually a mechanical 'digital' Watch. Infinite BS - Autopilot for the airship. Yeah .... No. Mechanical goodies like this FOR THAT ??? ... Imagine a machine with a million gears and rods and cams and levers (and so huge it might just fit in the large space of a real Blimp hangar). Actually this here is the guts to some company's unusual watch - something utterly simple by comparison. " *WATCH OUT* -- THAT FALSE SHEPHERD IS COMIN AROUND AGAIN !!!!! " --- --- --- Superheated Water to Power Things - Vehicles ? ''' : 705F 212 atm (~3000 lb/sq in) - the limit before water is Super Critical (unstable staturation point) How much energy can be stored ??? As compared to Electric batteries/chemical reactions ???? ~ 1 MJ/KG (chemical reactions can contain more, even discounting their required oxidizers) There would be the usual mechanical 'Conversion into Work' inefficiencies... (as always) Condenser/Heat exchanger system is needed to avoid Rapture ambient water pressure fighting the exhaust steam (at least for Bathyspheres and Subs). Hot Water Is available in Rapture at the geothermal sources, though distributed points (for general 'recharging) would be overly complicated. This is what is used in Rapture's power plant 'heat engine' power generation (simpler 'fixed' installations near the heat source). - '''Steam ... Seems more something a realistic Infinite's Columbia would make use of. --- --- --- Telepresence Used Very Early in Rapture to Run Construction Machines (Its in the Novel) : Video cameras and remote controls (particularly useful to avoid more workers needing the bothersome/expensive diving suits). Scale of construction machines to build the City. Radio links (wire transmission simpler but not usable for 'sub' connections. Real world small video cameras were still being developed (so this would be another Ryan 'high-tech' innovation and a pre-Rapture development). Remote command actuation and feedback telemetry would be another innovation needed. Use for machines in hazardous environments (like 600+ feet of water) - Ryan Sea Construction had a head start on these technologies. Alot of prefabrication work (on surface) was done to efficiently build large structure components. One operator could control multiple machines in different locations (increasing productivity and lowering costs). Remote control also used with 'on-site' operators (control cabins on submarine construction machines) with better view than one (or a few) cameras could supply. --- --- --- Recycling - Big In Rapture Even Before the Chaos Began : ''' --- --- --- '''Jewelry - Gold ? Needed for New Circuitry Production and For Repairs. Such things are also valuable outside Rapture - smugglers have to trade something and 'Ryan Dollars' hardly will be accepted by the Surface contacts. The Air-Tite facility likely was not pilfered (much) while under Reed Wahl's control, and the interval after Porter/Tenenbaum left wasn't so long until the Founding of New Rapture (besides, the Thinker was still there to keep it closed off). Its likely that most corpses have already been scavenged for gold teeth - its one reason why you will have a pair of pliars as a basic tool. Much Jewelry containing precious metals disappeared due to the Smuggling Operation, which required payments on the Surface to purchase the contraband -- and at a premium price there and with the additional overhead of 'Fencing' the goods.. --- --- --- Pigeon Guided Missile ( a Real World Idea) : Was tried as a technology as an alternative to electronics/computers which were primitive in those days (late 40s). Pigeon trained to peck at a screen (an optical window view) to steer the missile towards a target (terminal guidance). So why not a Sea Slug Guided Bathysphere (SGB) ?? Pigeons, though rather bird-brained, are still Einsteins compared to Sea Slugs. Navigation and control of a Bathysphere (Sub) is a bit more than pecking at a TV picture to guide a missile to a target blip. Bathyspheres would be needed in Rapture LONG before the whole ADAM & Slug thing even happened/was possible. One of those 'ideas' that someone thought of but didn't quite work out (maybe then sea turtle brain interfaces ???) Remember something doing real stuff isn't the same as a computer game where you simply 'fake it' (things don't HAVE to actually work, beyond the puppet show). --- --- --- Graphene (Hmm, a Goodie for the Plot as It 'Thickens') ''' : One of those things that might be exploited for fictional RETRO technologies ... "The Cambridge Graphene Centre and the University of Trieste in Italy conducted a collaborative research on '''use of Graphene as electrodes to interact with brain neurons. The research was recently published in the journal of ACS Nano. The research revealed that uncoated Graphene can be used as neuro-interface electrode without altering or damaging the neural functions such as signal loss or formation of scar tissue. Graphene electrodes in body stay significantly more stable than modern day electrodes (of tungsten or silicon) because of its unique properties such as flexibility, bio-compatibility, and conductivity. It could possibly help in restoring sensory function." Soooooo ... maybe a useful tool somehow for the ADAM based Bio-Electronics ??? (ie- a way to connect with the organic tissues require (fundamental) in my fictional Bio- Electronic technology in Rapture). BTW, its been shown that you can obtain 'Graphene' by taking common Graphite and using mere Scotch tape to (over and over) separate the graphite (pure Carbon with a sheet crystalline structure) into its layers until you have a one-atom-thick piece of Graphene (THIS has been done in high school classes, actually). Again this is supposing someone in Rapture was playing around with this stuff, and managed to notice (that's the real trick - the "realization" of something in front of them) and discover some very interesting properties, which then SOMEONE ELSE gets told about. THEY then could investigate/come up with a use for it ((See that's the REAL mechanism - a chain of collaboration between different expertise/knowhow/imagination, and NOT just one person's unrealistically discovering/developing/perfecting the THINGEE like Fink/Suchong (in BaSx), in some Simpleton's story, is said to have achieved. )) --- --- --- State of Electrics/Electronics in Rapture : Base tech is late 1940s (after major advances during WW2) and new stuff into early 50s (with most surface 'tech' being brought in to Rapture upto time of Civil war). Some of the 'smuggled' goods were actually technology Surface improvements would always be sought for products in Raptures competitive environment and this included manufaturing techniques and material processing. (Products for limited customers might only warrant smuggling the objects themselves). It is possible that additional information was later (post BS1/BS2) brought from 'the Surface'. We dont know what all else happened in the rest of Rapture, even as to what Sofia Lamb did - since we know she had some links to the Surface, but may have been wholy uninterested at improvements for mere people. Printed Circuit boards (invented 1903) - fundamental in mass producing/miniturizing devices, which also lead to modularizing/standardizing of parts. Optics : * TV cameras, including bio-logics - using fish/slug eye tissues, infrared systems * Masers (1957) and Lasers (1960) * Water level/Fire/Smoke Sensors for structural safety * Light amplification * Optical detectors and triggers (interesting to use a Friend-Foe tag that was a certain paint color with specific color frequencies or encoded flashing patterns --- The Novel mentions this for the Security scanners added at the start of the Civil War) * Alot of Telepresence (remote control construction machinery) was used in building Rapture (1946) in its unfriendly environment. Radio : * Miniature radios (including TV transmission/reception - like the one in Delta's suit) * Relays/Repeaters to make sure the radio signals got thru (alot like WIFI hotspots), since radio waves work miserably thru water and inside buildings. * Data signals/Networking - not just for computers, but for alot of automatic devices and sensors (leak sensors all over the City you would think would be a very good idea). X-isters (known as Transistors (1949) in the outside world) - going from tubes to X-isters changed alot of things, allowed miniturization of many electronic devices and lowered costs/increased reliability/allowed mass production. Bio-Circuitry (Rapture unique, made possible by ADAM tech) - Bio-Logic : * Biolgical based electronics (with/without ADAM use) - induced logic patterns for certain useful functions that would take multiple thousand (even millions) of bulky Xisters (transisters) to duplicate. Made possible sophisticated robotics and other technological control and sensor devices. * Computer logic circuitry : ** The Thinker (not just the circuits but the programming/organizing techniques) ** Holographic Memory (brain cell soup to store huge masses of information ) ** Bio disks for mass complex logic circuitry (components that can take the place of circuit with many thousand of transisters) ** Artificial (Semi) Intelligence for robots and automation Magnetics - recording media (including tape, drum/disk drives), electronic machines, tags for routing Pneumo capsules X-ray advancements (offshoot of Ryan's many experiments with high energy technology ) Electrically powered Bioluminescence (for very low power lighting systems) - very high efficiency 'Home' Computers (size of a small car) -- developed in Rapture for more convenient computing. Technical improvements greatly expanded their capabilities year by year. Tying them together into some kind of 'network' might be done (as would the having a remote terminal connected thru a phone data line to a shared computer). Computationl capabilities increased by magnitudes which assisted many other types of research and development. Brain Wave sensors ??? Biological tissues could potentially be sensitive to brain/nervous system emanations (especially with genetic enhancements and electronic amplification -- its a bit of a stretch, but still physically possible), It also may not be anything like 'reading thoughts' but just activity that gives away clues that could be detected/interpretted. Controls for high-powered machinery (regulators for devices which will easily self-destruct if not continually/instantly adjusted) Ex - Plasma cutting head for oil wells or mass cutting rock has a feedback system to handle environmental variations, continuously allowing the device to cut 10 X faster than the old hand regulated systems. Similar devices were used for mass production of certain materials widely used in constructing Rapture. --- --- --- High Energy Fuels for Portable Power Sources ''': Batteries are heavy, and of limited capacity (true even today). ... Poor energy density. Fuel Cells same, and they operate at high temperatures (not optimal for something like a Bathysphere). Combustion (mechanical engine) still a viable solution, though 'Sea' operations require oxidizers to make the burning of a 'fuel' possible. (Thus Big Daddy Drill 'Fuel' would need to be both Fuel AND Oxidizer if used out in Ocean). Internal (normal atmospheric pressure) combustion still needs elimination of exhaust gases. (Bathyspere/Sub/AE_Train must exhaust outside into Sea - and thats compressed to force it out against the pressure.) For External (In Sea at Sea Pressure) Combustion - Pressure differentials to operate at Raptures depths (20 atmospheres and even deeper). --- --- --- --- --- '''Old Rapture Technologies : * May need to hold contests in 'Alpha' phase (Pre-release 'Player Asset Creation') for all the machines seen in the old BS1/BS2 game content - As to what the machine's function is so that they can become part of a logical game functionality (ie- lots of those wall/utility machines/equipment/regulators and others things for industrial/manufacturing, etc..) * Genetic research camera (Mk1 and Mk2) ** Sophisticated technology that is largely lost (or out of film...) ** Working units have a very high bounty on them for obvious reasons. * Gatherers Gardens - machines dismantled for genetic technology equipment used in 'the Cure'. ** Illegal to own (ADAM splicing technologies), high bounty offered for them for salvage. ** Genetic Tech components are used in the Splicer rehabilitation clinic and for further research. * Safes/doors with shareable combinations (might not stop a determined thief, but at least will slow them down) * Health Stations - can greatly assist in medical treatment efforts - not quite as quick as old days * Gene Bank machines - now used in X-Cell tech, also as medical scanners ( a few in the 'clinic' modified for Plasmid extractions from Splicers) * Ammo Bandito machines now used as general vending machines - new 'skins' modifications to customize them for new products * Security Cameras/Turrets/Bots are still around and definitely are still used. Some improvements have been made. * Bot Shutdown machines have been rewired to call Bot assistance by citizens. There are fines for triggering them with no valid need. Edge areas in particular have need of these if Bot coverage is available. * Power to the People machines* Those unusual machines eventually stopped working when they ran out of parts (which are hard to find or fabricate now). Remaining machines still capable of performing upgrades are in premium demand. Broken machines may still contain some upgrade part sets (as well as useful fabrication tools). * The Minerva systems and Central Computing's old 'automatic' monitoring/directing function (much to be restored as the comm lines used to access sensors were disrupted, or the areas lost power, or sensors were stolen/broken). * TV + Radio ** Rapture Radio once offered a dozen stations of varied content for listeners. ** 5 TV channels and nothing good on ANY of them !! ** Watchable Content expanding every day (via 'Player Created Assets') ** CH2 - The 'Security' Channel - offers Notices and Warnings from the security systems. ** Radio music - a very popular diversion for the masses - Some of the reconstituted stations take requests. ** Old TV reruns children's show 'Adventures of Squirmy the SeaSlug' once sponsored by Fontaine Futuristics. ** Popular Radio Cliffhanger series 'Sea Patrol' and TV show 'Sea Trek' and various gameshows ("Bait That Hook", etc...) * Public Address system ** Emergency announcements/alarms - crucial to public safety ** "Thought of the day" inspiration thoughts to start the day with ** Area Theme music can be played 24 hours a day (until it starts driving people crazy) * New Recordings (Accu-Vox) ** Players can record their own reminicances - recycled Accu-Vox ** Radio stations offer a Bounty on working Accu-Vox (the old tape systems were largely destroyed, needed for advertisement recordings and repeated news bulletins) * Ryanium - what the Ocean windows (the glass) are made out of (not quite with the "sub-molecular bonding" mentioned in the book) combining properties of glass and metal. Probably a high strength crystaline material. ** Sounds like nano-tech to maximize certain properties need to allow these windows under 19+ atmospheres of surface pressure (and sometimes to rebar the city's structural concrete). ** The material may be usable for other purposes - fabrication (material from all those shards of broken windows). ** There was to be a industrial process located in Rapture that could make more of this material to meet Ryan's "self-contained" goals (if the city was ever to be able to expand). * Genetic locks - the central controls that operated these stopped working long ago, so most devices employing them need to be hacked. The machines that used them have the genetic components that likely have high tech value. * Mutant plants developed for consumer products - Nicotine sugarcane (for artificial tobacco), Caffeine leaf as a coffee bean replacement, various pharmaceuticals, etc.. These things still exist somewhere in Rapture. * Big Daddies (and more generic City Workers) ** Rehabilitation of the Big Daddies was not overly successful because of their origin of fast growth and extreme conditioning which had been used to create them. Most had no 'normal' state to revert to. ** They had largely been the reason that Rapture continued to exist with their obsession with maintenance and ability to do heavy external repairs. ** Tenenbaum has done work trying long term reconditioning to try to build a 'person' inside the Big Daddies who now are little more than automated service machines. ** Until that time the Big Daddies still carry out their maintenance duties. * Fuels and Gases ** Did Big Daddies really run burning fuel out in the water where there is no air?? Or was it compressed nitrogen gas or air to power its drill/rivet gun?? ** Why have a burnable 'Fuel' Station out in the water??. Compressed/liquid gas refills instead?? 'Airmotors' have been around for a long time and run on compressed gas. ** How long do those (breathing) airtanks last? Compressors to refill tanks needed (or those 'Fueling Stations?). ** Those Red gas cylinders everywhere (introducing Green oxygen cylinders - the ones that DONT explode) ** Those flying Bots burn fuel - now where does THAT come from (refined oil based ?). Heavy tanks (compressed gas) on something that has to fly doesn't work. * Little Sisters ** The program was stopped with the outlawing of kidnapping children as well as splicing in Rapture. ** Methods to reverse the effects that ADAM technology had caused were found. Based on a different use of the Sea Slugs to create the Anti-ADAM, the Little Sisters have been freed. * Big Sisters ** Little Sisters who were affected to long term ADAM processing side-effects and become unstable. ** Had taken the place of some Big Daddies who no longer could protect Little Sisters from more powerful/clever Splicers. ** Attempts are being made to 'save' the Big Sisters using the new gene therapies. Catch one if you can. * Expendable hi-tech Ammos ** (Remote Hack device/Mini-Turrets/Trap Spears/Rocket Spears/Seeker grenades/Trap rivets) were made in the past, but many of the manufacturing know-how was destroyed. ** Many components from these have other uses can be used for hi-tech repairs (more important than expendable ammo). ** Easier-to-Fabricate ammo (the less technical and simpler mechanically) will take their place. * EVE Dispenser, Tool Dispenser - these didn't do alot but can be reused for other things (If you find a full one somewhere - then JACKPOT !!). * Subs of various sorts - used for construction, resource gathering, general transport (& smuggling) and Sea Patrols. * Metro System - of point to point Bathyspheres that run on fixed paths(MetroWays). ** Freight models as well as Passenger. ** Not quite an analogy of cars/trucks. ** Automatic systems for traffic control. * Power Generation : ** Geothermal power production and heat distribution. ** Main Desalinization system (central technology is boiling water). ** Monstrosity in Hephaestus only part of the power system ** More 'usual' system would be many smaller Geothermal Well Generating Units placed around that whole area. ** Heat pipes of either steam or superheated water distribute heat to a large part of the city. Ryan would have planned on allowing the city to expand in the future, so somehow the building components would have to be made for that expansion and for inevitable replacements. He planned on having Rapture to be 'self-sufficient' sooner than later (and most of that should have been completed by the time things started to go wrong). Thus, there is somewhere an industrial facility to make the strong pressure resistant building materials for walls and windows (a high strength synthetic) and probably ready stockpiles. Included would be the pressure bulkhead mechanisms similarly required (ie- extra Securis doors, FailSafe utility auto seals, etc..) --- --- --- --- --- . .